8/11/2019 Sanders Comes Full Circle | Vanguard Press | Apr. 6,
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SANDERS COMES
FULL CIRCLE
BURLINGTON
B ernie Sanders' c.areer is,ina sense, comlOg full
circle."Back before I was mayor ,"
he recalls. "I was the head of anon-profit group that
producedaudio--visual materialS." Andnow that he has vacated
Bur-lington City Hall, Sanders willserve as head of another
non-
profit group, this one aimed
at promoting his political views.The Center for
DemocraticInstitutions, as the new entityis known, will operate out
ofan office in Burlington as soonas suitable space can be found.The
organization may eventu-
ally include paid staffers, theformer mayor says,dependingon
itssuccess in raising fundsfrom foundations and other
donors."Being nonprofit gives you
access to money you can't get
otherwise," Sanders explainedin an interview with the Van-guard
during his final hours in
office.At present, the center con-
sists of little more than itsboard of directors, most of
whose members are longtimeSanders associates. Includedin the
group are University of
Vermont professors Huck
Gutman and Richard Sugar-
man; Rachel Levin, who man-
aged Sanders' congressional
campaign last year; Doug
Boucher, fundraiser for that
effort; Dr. Dan Weiner, a NewYork City supporter ofSanders;and
Jane Sanders, the ex-
mayor's wife.
Although its activities haveyet to be fully defined, thecenter
could function as the
marketing mechanism foracolumn that the socialist ....tician
hopes towrite. S o D d lDhas been trying for sevenlweeks now to
interest va r i a I Imedia outlets in a regular.,.
dicated commentary. ' 'Theresponse has been less t h a
noverwhelming," Sandersa d -mits, adding, thaI he is "DOtsurprised"
bymainstreamedi-tors' reluct.ance to provide a
forum forhis brando I l 1 l 1 1 Y 1 i LAt the same
time,Saadea
has enjoyed some initial.....cess in getting space on d ieop-ed
page of influentialda i ly
papers. fn February, TlwNn.York Times gavem a j o r . . . .
,
to his polemic against !betwo -party system. last I I lODt I I
noBoston Globe ran a piece illwhich the progressive
aclitiIlreviewed his tenure. m a y o r.Sanders isalso w ritiD g aD
....count ofhis recent IripIDClDfor pub1icatioo in!be G IoI Jo
.
The restless radical .......have little troublellayiog""at least
in the initial pile.fihis post-mayol1ll life. In!be
past two weeks heh a s spolenat six universities arouod th eUS
and Canada, includingPrinceton and the Universityof Manitoba in
Winnipeg,Canada. Sanders likewise s a y she "wouldn't mind" acqui r
i :uga reguJar college leacbiag post.
But Sanders maya I oo 0..perience difficulties incany-109 ?ut
another CODtemplatedproject, according toan ar-ticle in the March
issue 01N ew
E".g/a~ Monthly. Hisp lan townte hismemoin is DC)( eli-citing
much entbUlium from
literary qenlS c oa ta e ted b ythe magazine. "Woo coresr the
Monthly quotes &lher
